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Lottery winner shares $25M jackpot

Local marijuana advocate Bob Erb is spending this week giving away some of his $25 million Lotto Max winnings to friends and family.

And he plans to spend the next couple of weeks giving away money to groups who help people in the community.

Erb won $25 million of the $50 million Lotto Max drawn Nov. 2 – his first huge win after 43 years of buying tickets.

“It absolutely is [true]. And friggin’ unbelievable,” said Erb.

On his way down and back to his dad’s funeral in Calgary, he stopped to gas up at several places including the Hazelton Chevron where he believes he bought the ticket.

“In Hazelton, I got my mini dips as well. I take two consecutive draws and the extra on Lotto Max,” he said. The price wasn’t correct, and the ticket wasn’t what he asked for, but he decided to keep it.

“He (cashier) was going to delete that one. I said ‘I might as well take it, it might be the one,” said Erb.

He figures he’s giving about $7 million in total to family and friends.

Erb has at least 13 local groups in mind as beneficiaries to share his windfall, and has earmarked about $2 million for them. Those groups include the Happy Gang Centre, Canadian Legion Branch #13, Salvation Army, the hospital thrift store, Terrace Hospice Society, the damp shelter, and transition house among others.

But he did say he plans to play it smart with his money by investing $15 million wisely.

Erb, who ran for the BC Marijuana Party here in 2001 and for city council in that year’s municipal election, says he won’t enter politics again.

However, he plans to invite all the major groups who promote the legalization of marijuana from all the provinces to Terrace to have a marijuana conference in the new year.

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